When the Washington Wizards traded away Bradley Beal in 2023, it signaled that they were finally ready to rebuild after putting it off for years. Washington had been the epitome of mediocrity and needed a fresh start.
Rebuilds in the NBA aren’t easy, especially in the first couple of years. The Wizards have been the Eastern Conference’s worst team each of the last two seasons, as they were 15-67 last season, and are 15-51 this year.
However, the key thing to do during a rebuild is to find young talent that can be long-term fits and a core of players to build around, especially if you’re picking at the top of the draft every year. Washington has done exactly that, drafting Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington, and Kyshawn George in the last two years, and young guard Jordan Poole resurrecting his career after a couple of rough seasons.
The Washington Wizards have started off their rebuild the right way.
Poole especially has gone from a potential trade chip to a long-term fit for the Wizards. The sixth-year man out of Michigan is averaging a career-high in points per game (20.8), three-point percentage (37.7), assists (4.6), and player efficiency rating (16.2).
Poole has also increased his true-shooting percentage from 52.9 to 58 percent this season and has looked a lot more confident as a ball handler. His oft-criticized IQ has been much improved as a whole and now he looks like the Wizards’ answer at point guard.
In addition to Poole, young players like Coulibaly and Sarr have shown a lot of promise. I wrote earlier in the season on Coulibaly’s immense improvement, especially offensively. He and Sarr have the tools to be elite defensive players in the NBA, but they just needed offensive refinement and both have shown that this season. Sarr just went toe-to-toe with MVP candidate Nikola Jokic last week, where the French rookie scored 34 points. He has scored 20 or more in each of his last three.
Washington may not be in contention right now, but they have done a masterful job with this rebuild thus far. With another high draft pick on the way, nine potential firsts over the next seven years, and a budding young core, the Wizards could be making noise in the East sooner rather than later.